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Construction Site Injuries—An Overview

The Types of Construction Site Injuries

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), approximately one in every ten construction workers in America is hurt on the job every year. Almost one out of every five dollars paid in workers’ compensation claims annually goes to people hurt on a construction site. Here are the most frequent types of injuries suffered by construction workers:

  • Injuries from falls—The most common type of injury on a construction project is a fall, either from a ladder or scaffold, an unguarded upper level or a construction elevator. A lot of workers are also hurt in slips, trips and falls over site debris, materials, tools and equipment.
  • Injuries from falling objects—Particularly on high rise projects, a lot of workers are hurt when items stored on upper levels, from tools to construction materials to trash, fall on them.
  • Dangerous or defective machinery, tools or equipment—Far too often, general contractors or owners use poorly maintained equipment, or tools or machines that are inappropriate for the job, or that have simply been poorly designed or manufactured. In those instances, the manufacturers and sellers of those devices can be liable for any injury they cause.
  • Negligent hiring, training or supervision—In the drive to complete a project, owners and general contractors frequently hire people without appropriate skills, fail to properly train them to use heavy equipment, and allow them to work without adequate guidance and supervision. Many workplace injuries occur when unsupervised workers devise workarounds that violate safety requirements.
  • Motor vehicle accidents—With trucks and other vehicles in and out of job sites, and with workers traveling back and forth from a job site, workers are continually at risk of injury in motor vehicle accidents.

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